Will The Energy Crisis Affect Data Centres?
The energy crisis is impacting both consumers and businesses with rising costs. Among businesses, data centres are one of the biggest users of energy and they are experiencing rises too. According to the Aggreko report, Power Struggle in Data Centre, the energy crisis is hitting the industry hard. Need a refresh on what a data centre is? Take a look at our quick guide to data centres in this previous article.
Why Do Data Centres Use So Much Energy?
Even a small data centre requires a lot of power and support to operate 24/7. Energy is consumed by the equipment, environmental controls, and back-up infrastructure. Data centres rely on uninterruptable power sources because they need to be operating constantly. These non-stop operations use the highest amount of energy. The equipment being on all the time, creates vast amounts of heat that needs to be removed efficiently and effectively. Cooling and ventilation systems are integral as the equipment loses functionality when it is overheated. This is where the second most significant amount of energy is used. These two core elements require human support to monitor, control and repair. Staff facilities and making the environments suitable for them to work in also requires energy. It’s worth noting that energy consumption doesn’t always increase with the size of the data centre. Out-dated technology or ineffective cooling in a small on-premises data centre can cost a disproportionate amount compared to a well-run, bigger data centre with state-of-the art technology.
How Can Data Centres Reduce Their Energy Consumption?
The energy crisis is a driver of change within the world of data centres and so is climate change. Record breaking heat waves have been testing the cooling systems in data centres, and in some cases, the systems are failing. In July 2022 both Google Cloud and Oracle servers experienced outages because their cooling systems couldn’t keep up with the heat. As temperatures rise, data centres are going to need to improve their cooling capabilities. Investigating ways to make them more energy efficient at the same time makes sense. Microsoft experimented by sinking a data centre into the cold sea offshore of Scotland between 2018 and 2020. The results were positive enough for Microsoft to continue researching it as a viable option for the future. Changing the cooling systems from air cooled to water evaporation cooled is considered more energy efficient. This does, however, use a lot of water which is also a precious resource. Leaving the lights off in data centres is a quick win when it comes to reducing energy consumption. There is no need to light an area with no one working in it and the lack of hot lights can reduce the temperature in the rooms too. Consolidation of small data centres into fewer, larger ones has proven successful when attempted by the Dutch government. On the contrary, Meta scrapped plans to build a large data centre outside the town of Zeewolde, Netherlands. This was because the citizens did not want the data centre to use up the renewable energy that was meant for the town. More long-term plans include Google and Meta pledging to match their operations with 100% renewable energy. Other operators have said they will only use renewable energy. Unfortunately, this won’t help the data centres struggling through the current energy crisis.
What Happens If Energy Prices Get Too High?
In March 2022 the UK arm of Sungard Availability Services entered administration. The insolvency consultancy Teneo Restructuring disclosed that rising energy prices were partly responsible for the closure. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted consumer behaviour away from Sungard AS’s serviced offices. This directly had a negative impact on their financial situation. This was exacerbated so intensely with the onset of the energy crisis that they had to close their 16 sites across the UK. Although the energy crisis was not solely responsible for Sungard AS going into administration, it is a contributing factor that cannot be ignored by other data centres. The Aggreko Power Struggle in Data Centre report surveyed 253 data centre professionals in the UK and ROI. 58% of the UK respondents said the energy crisis was having a ‘significant impact’. They all reported their energy costs have gone up in the last three years, with some saying they had gone up by 50%. 70% of the UK data centres said the energy crisis was making it harder for them to keep their prices competitive. In the ROI, 73% said the same. At a time when end-users are already dealing with energy price increases and a cost-of-living crisis, getting through another cost rising may be impossible for some. So, the question isn’t ‘will the energy crisis affect data centres?’, but ‘how much more will the energy crisis affect data centres?’. If you have any questions or concerns about your data centre or IT infrastructure, talk to us and our dedicated team of experts will provide advice and information.
